Scottish Executive

Central Heating Programme

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address any shortage of skilled tradesmen that may affect schemes such as the central heating installation programme.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: I have asked Angiolina Foster, the Acting Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  We have no evidence that skills shortages are interfering with taking forward the central heating programme.

External Relations

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on what organisations will be involved in Scotland Week in Estonia in July 2004; what funding will be made available for the proposed event, and what information it has on events planned for the week.

Mr Andy Kerr: Scotland Week in Estonia is being organised by the Honorary Consul for Estonia in Scotland, Mr Iain Lawson. We understand that the focus of the week will be on raising the profile of Scottish business in Estonia. The programme is at an early stage of development and no decisions have yet been taken about Scottish Executive involvement.

Maternity Services

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual throughput was in each neo-natal unit in each of the last 10 years.

Malcolm Chisholm: A table detailing the throughput of each neo-natal unit for the years ending 31 March 1998 to 2003 has been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 30478).

  The recording of information from neo-natal units was only phased in 1996-97. However not all trusts submitted the information in 1996-97. Therefore the information supplied covers the period 1997-98 to 2002-03.

  "Throughput" indicates the average numbers of in-patient episodes treated per bed year. Derived as in-patient episodes/average available staffed beds.

Police

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of officers at each rank within (a) each police force and (b) the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) is female.

Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is shown in the following table:

  Percentage of female officers as at 31 March 2003

  

 

Chief Officer

Superintendent

Inspector

Sergeant

Constable



Central

33%

0

7%

7%

20%



Dumfries and Galloway

0

0

6%

6%

24%



Fife

0

0

7%

4%

22%



Grampian

0

5%

5%

14%

22%



Lothian and Borders

0

3%

6%

9%

21%



Northern

0

0

2%

8%

22%



Strathclyde

12%

6%

7%

10%

22%



Tayside

0

14%

6%

7%

24%



SDEA (see note 2)

0

0

0

10%

14%



  Notes:

  1. The source for figures for police forces is the annual statistical returns from forces for 2002-03. The figures for the SDEA were provided directly by that organisation.

  2. Figures for forces include officers seconded to central service, including for example the Scottish Police College and the SDEA. As a result, officers in the SDEA appear twice in the table but the information provided in the annual statistical returns does not identify these separately by force.

  3. Chief officer includes chief constable, deputy chief constable and assistant chief constable; superintendent includes chief superintendent; and inspector includes chief inspector.

Police

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many female officers have been recruited into each rank within (a) each police force and (b) the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) in the last year.

Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is shown in the following table. All new recruits are appointed to the rank of police constable. The two officers newly seconded to the SDEA were also police constables.

  Total Number of female officers recruited in 2002-03.

  


Force

Total Number of Female Recruits



Central

14



Dumfries and Galloway

3



Fife

20



Grampian

16



Lothian and Borders

33



Northern

12



Strathclyde

147



Tayside

12



SDEA

2



Total

257



  Notes:

  1. The source for figures for police forces is the annual statistical returns from forces for 2002-03. The figures for the SDEA were provided directly by that organisation.

  2. Figures for forces include officers seconded to central service, including for example the Scottish Police College and the SDEA. As a result, officers in the SDEA appear twice in the table but the information provided in the annual statistical returns does not identify these separately by force.

Police

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of officers at each rank within (a) each police force and (b) the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) is from ethnic minority groups.

Cathy Jamieson: Information as at end March 2003 is shown in the following table:

  


Force

Inspector

Sergeant

Constable



Central

0

0.8%

0.2%



Dumfries & Galloway

0

0

0.3%



Fife

0

0

0.7%



Grampian

0

0

0.4%



Lothian and Borders

1.1%

0.5%

0.9%



Northern

0

0

0.4%



Strathclyde

0

0.3%

0.9%



Tayside

0

0

0.5%



SDEA

0

0

0.8%



  Notes:

  1. The source for figures for police forces is the Annual Statistical Returns from forces for 2002-03. The figures for the SDEA were provided directly by that organisation.

  2. Figures for forces include officers seconded to central service, including for example the Scottish Police College and the SDEA. As a result, officers in the SDEA appear twice in the table but the information provided in the annual statistical returns does not identify these separately by force.

  3. Figures for inspector include chief inspector.

  4. There were no officers from ethnic minority groups above the rank of chief inspector.

Police

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific action it has taken to address under-representation of female officers above the rank of constable in the police force and what the total cost was of such action in each of the last three years for which information is available.

Cathy Jamieson: The appointment of officers in Scottish police forces is the sole responsibility of chief constables or, at the most senior levels, the police authority. Further advancement is determined on merit under internal procedures which take account of qualifications and experience. As an equal opportunities employer, the Scottish Police Service is committed to the principles of equality and diversity in relation to employment. Under the Scottish police service people strategy each force will be taking forward the gender equality action plan which is intended to ensure that all police employment policies are fairly designed and implemented. Specific measures taken by forces include:

  adopting part-time working policies and flexible working arrangements;

  encouraging female officers to pursue specialist posts;

  organising leadership development programmes for women officers at the Scottish Police College; and

  establishing networking and monitoring facilities.

  A national conference for senior women in policing will be held in Edinburgh later this year.

Police

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued in respect of action to address under-representation of female officers above the rank of constable in police forces.

Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-5825 on 11 February 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Road Accidents

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many road accidents there have been on the A737 in each of the last five years and how many there have been on the section between Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch Roadhead roundabout.

Nicol Stephen: The number of road accidents on the A737 in each of the last five years for which statistics are available (to the end of 2002) is as follows:

  


Year

Fatal

Serious

Slight

Total



1998

1

9

43

53



1999

0

16

46

62



2000

2

14

49

65



2001

0

15

38

53



2002

2

11

53

66



  The number of accidents on the section of the A737 between Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch Roadhead Roundabout is as follows:-

  


Year

Fatal

Serious

Slight

Total



1998

0

2

9

11



1999

0

4

12

16



2000

1

5

14

20



2001

0

2

10

12



2002

1

2

8

11

Scottish Executive Publications

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to update The Way Forward: Framework for Economic Development in Scotland and, if so, who will undertake this work and when it will be published.

Mr Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-5814 on 9 February 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Scottish Executive Publications

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will respond to the report Improving the Position of Women in Scotland: An Agenda for Action .

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive gave an initial response to the report of the Strategic Group on Women, Improving the Position of Women in Scotland: An Agenda for Action , when it was published on 28 November 2003 which is available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/pages/news/2003/11/SEc349.aspx.

  The Scottish Executive intends to publish a more detailed response to the report in spring 2004.

Scottish Executive Publications

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the report Improving the Position of Women in Scotland: An Agenda for A ction was publicised; to whom it was circulated, and how consultation with women's groups and organisations on its recommendations will be conducted.

Ms Margaret Curran: The report of the Strategic Group on Women, Improving the Position of Women in Scotland: An Agenda for Action was published on 28 November 2003 in both hard copy and on the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/social/ipwsaa-00.asp . Three supporting papers were also published on the website.

  Over 500 hard copies have been sent to or handed out at various meetings and events to a wide variety of individuals and organisations in Scotland with an interest in the position of women, including over 200 organisations registered on the database of Scottish women's organisations maintained by Glasgow Women's Library and Engender with financial support from the Scottish Executive and the members of the steering group of the new Scottish Women's Convention.

  Consultation with women's organisations on the report's recommendations will be conducted as part of the Executive's on-going consultation with women's organisations on a range of issues and through a series of specific meetings during the first quarter of 2004.

Sexual Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many healthcare professionals (a) are currently working and (b) have worked in each year since 1999 with patients with sexual dysfunction.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally. Where the presenting problem is primarily of sexual dysfunction we recognise that patients may benefit from specialist referral. The arrangements for such services will vary from health board to health board. Sexual dysfunction may underlie a host of presentations and is a feature of much chronic and disabling disease. All healthcare professionals are likely to come across sexual dysfunction in a variety of settings.

Social Work

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what basis the draft report on the "Miss X" case was returned to the Chief Inspector of Social Work Services by Scottish Borders Council on 5 November 2003 and when it anticipates that the report will be publicly issued.

Peter Peacock: On 5 November 2003, the Chief Executive of Scottish Borders Council provided comments on the initial draft findings of fact. No date has been set for publication.

Trade

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of trade is with European Union countries, broken down by country and detailing the value of the trade in each case.

Mr Jim Wallace: Scottish export statistics for 2002 will be made available by the Scottish Executive early in 2004. Where possible, these will detail the value of exports across all sectors of the Scottish economy to principal markets located in the European Union and the rest of the world.

  The latest available figures which provide this breakdown relate to the manufacturing sector only and are for 2002. These were published by the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) in December 2003 and show the top forty markets for Scottish manufactured exports. In 2002, 55% of Scottish manufactured exports were to the European Union. A copy of SCDI's report was made available to the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 30521) and can be accessed on the internet at http://www.scdi.org.uk/file.php?id=1684.

  The latest available export statistics for all sectors of the Scottish economy are for 2001. These were published as part of the Global Connections Survey commissioned by Scottish Development International in February 2003 and, where available, show the value of exports to principal markets located in the European Union and the rest of the world. A copy of the survey was made available to the Scottish Parliament Information Reference Centre (Bib. number 30520) and can be accessed on the internet at:

  http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/publicationsglobalconnectionssurvey20012002revised10march2003se.pdf.

Transport

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support urban community transport.

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will establish a fund to support urban community groups in purchasing transport for community use.

Nicol Stephen: The Executive has made £500,000 per year available between 2003-06 to pilot, and encourage the development of, urban community transport. The funds will be spent in some of the more socially disadvantaged City Council areas. Bids have been received from the four city councils and awards will be announced shortly.

Transport

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will co-ordinate action on urban community transport.

Nicol Stephen: The Executive plans to award urban community transport grants to the four City Councils during February 2004. We shall monitor the performance of the pilot projects in partnership with the Councils and the Community Transport Association.

Unemployment

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the most recent unemployment figures for Scotland are.

Mr Jim Wallace: For the quarter September to November 2003, 147,000 people were unemployed in Scotland, this is a rate of 5.8 percent. These are the most recent figures available and are based on the International Labour Organisation definition of unemployment.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Project

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer what plans there are for an opening ceremony for the new Scottish Parliament building.

Mr George Reid: : A number of options are still being considered for the opening ceremony but no decision has been made yet on the nature of the ceremony. As soon as a decision is reached I will inform Parliament.

Holyrood Project

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer what the projected budget, inclusive of staff costs, is for the opening ceremony for the new Scottish Parliament building.

Mr George Reid: : No decision has been made yet on the nature of the opening ceremony and therefore no specific budget has been allocated for this purpose. The Clerk/Chief Executive stated in evidence he gave to the Finance Committee on Tuesday 25 November that any funding required would be met from the contingency budget for 2004-05. Costs will be a factor in deciding what is appropriate for the opening ceremony and the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body would always seek to avoid any unnecessary expense.